The Greeks called it arête. Traditionally translated as “virtue,” its central meaning is excellence. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, arête is applied to courage and strength, especially when exhibited in competition and this is one common dimension. But it’s more. The third aspect of responsibility, the pursuit of excellence, carries an ethical component when others count on our effectiveness at a given...

There’s a telling moment of decision-making in Thirteen Days– the film chronicling the events by President Kennedy and his administration during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a private exchange with his friend and advisor, Kenny O’Donnell, Kennedy reflects on the unthinkable – a nuclear holocaust with Russia – and declares, “We’re going to do whatever we have to do to make things...

“A person who maintains a pornstar’s erection between scenes; a broker of products or services that gets the client ready.” – Urban Dictionary The New Museum of Contemporary Art “…has evolved from a scrappy alternative space into a mainstream institution,” The New York Times reported (Nov. 11). However, in the opinion of many, the Museum “…is jeopardizing its integrity by giving too much...

“I felt last night’s decision was the right decision for my district even though it was not the popular decision for my party.” So said Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao (pronounced “gow”) the freshman Republican Representative from Louisiana after voting in favor of the health care bill Saturday.  Mr. Cao, the only House Republican of 177, called his support of the...

My first reaction to a front page story in yesterday’s New York Times was not flattering. “Aided by his bat and an astute apology, Alex Rodriguez is ending the baseball season not as a former steroids user but as a home run hero.” Under the headline, In Yankees Slugger, a Lesson for Redemption in the Steroid Era, (Nov. 3) the initial focus of the...

Should a newspaper print a story from a confidential report concerning ethics investigations, in which members of Congress are named, if the story was obtained as a result of an accidental release? Late Thursday night (Oct. 29) The Washington Post released the following two stories as “Breaking News”:  Confidential House report reveals details of investigations into lawmakers, aides; Seven members of House defense subcommittee...

Sometimes we get so caught up in the bad news du jour that we forget to appreciate some of the good news. Now, for example, Republicans continue to speak out against the “new” health care bill from Democrats.  Democrats turn around and blame Republicans for the economic crisis and lack of regulation on Wall Street.  (The bad news.) However, Neel Kashkari “…hears...

On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley Sullenberger had to make a series of critical decisions in 208 seconds.  As a result of his actions, he saved the lives of all 155 individuals on a crippled US Airways flight that had to ditch in New York’s Hudson River. In an interview (washingtonpost.com) conducted by Doug Feaver, Sullenberger talks about the qualities...

When I woke my wife Friday morning to tell her the news that President Obama had won the Nobel Prize for Peace, her first reaction mirrored that of many: “For what?” In an early morning speech Friday, Mr. Obama made clear, “I do not view [receiving this Prize] as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather an affirmation of American...

A Rap star takes the stage from one award winner shouting that another should have won. A TV pundit calls the President a racist. During a Presidential address to Congress, a representative shouts, “You lie!” Lumbering through a moral wilderness of incivility and unreason we are losing the best of ourselves to fear and uncertainty. With a struggling economy, rising...